The Philippine Army is once again fighting another bunch of terrorists who call themselves Maute Rebels and claim to be linked with the Islamic State. A massive offensive with artillery shell pounded this group, killing at least 11 terrorists and wounding five others in the town of Butig, Lanao del Sur. I was watching the TV footage of our Army soldiers and woefully, they lacked military equipment, which is basic to American soldiers when you see them on patrols.
I saw Armed Forces of the Philippines soldiers with what looked like a new M-14 rifle, but without scope sights or other paraphernalia. If the Maute Group only numbers some 200 or less men, I would like to believe that a platoon of crack US rangers can neutralize them, fighting them into the night with infrared scopes and night vision goggles. We have very good soldiers, but woefully lacking in basic military equipment. This is something that President Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte should seriously look into.
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What lessons can we get from last week's Senate and congressional hearings on the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the National Bilibid Prison? That the drug lords in this country have managed to penetrate even the highest-ranking police officers in the Philippine National Police. Everybody is practically "on the take!" Then we read that news report that President Duterte last Friday said, "That he could be forced to suspend the writ of habeas corpus if there are more cases of lawlessness around the country. However, he said he would not declare martial law to deal with the peace and order situation."
Speaking at the launch of the Pilipinong May Puso Foundation in Davao City, Duterte said the rebellion in Mindanao is one reason that he is considering the move, even though he really does not want to do it. "Ang Maute, grabe ang bakbakan dito," he said. "At kung magkalat itong still lawlessness, warning ko lang sa kanila 'yan. Ayaw ko kasi hindi maganda. But if you force my hand into it, I will declare the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, not martial law."
The writ of habeas corpus is a safeguard against warrantless arrests and illegal detentions. If I recall, then president Ferdinand Marcos suspended the Writ of Habeas Corpus after the infamous bombing of the Liberal Party Miting de Avance in Plaza Miranda on August 21, 1971. Most people believed that it was a way for President Marcos to test the waters and prepare for Martial Law. But President Duterte doesn't need to suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus all over the country. He can do this in places like Lanao del Sur, Basilan or Jolo and other troubled areas plagued by armed terrorists groups.
Before I forget, for you folks who were not born during the Martial Law yet and have not studied law, you may ask, "What then is this Writ of Habeas Corpus? Simply put: "When the Supreme Court, which has jurisdiction over habeas corpus petitions, issues the writ, it commands an individual or a government official who has restrained another individual to produce the prisoner at a designated time and place so that the court can determine whether the prisoner's custody is legal or not. If it isn't, then the prisoner must be released." So with the suspension, the SC cannot issue this writ to produce the "corpus" or the body of the person to be arrested.
Apparently, while President Duterte is still contemplating on this issue, he already got an ally in the person of Senator Richard Gordon who said "suspending the writ for suspected drug criminals and terrorists would lead to swifter justice and prevent summary and extrajudicial killings." I fully concur with Senator Gordon for as long as I pointed out already that this suspension should only be done in areas that need them. In fact, this has always been my take why President Marcos declared Martial Law all over the Philippines when it was not necessary to engulf the entire nation with martial rule. But then he lived in a different era where dictatorships controlled most nations.
In a report in The Philippine Star yesterday, President Duterte "validated" the list of alleged drug personalities containing up to 10,000 names of government officials as revealed by Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo. Secretary Panelo said: "That he had seen the list, which he estimated to be more than a foot high and containing around 5,000 to 10,000 names of public officials from barangay personnel, mayors, governors, members of the judiciary and prosecutors. There are about 10,000 people, government officials involved. That means that the magnitude and depth of the drug menace is so much, so huge, that public safety is now in danger."
With an estimated 3.2 million Filipinos hooked into illegal drugs, I would like to believe that these numbers are valid. President Duterte last Saturday said he would submit his final list of drug personalities to the National Security Council (NSC) and Congress before the end of the month.